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Sharpest image

In my weeks of research, I've come to the conclusion that there are different aspects of image quality. I'm looking for the sharpest image a point and shoot will make. Any suggestions? It's all starting to blend together!

You've been asking essentially the same question in numerous posts now. I don't think you're willing to accept the fact that most people think Canon cameras have the best picture of the point and shoots. Look at Jeff's favorites on this site. For cameras under $400, the Canon A570IS and SD850IS are at the top of the list. Look at DP Review, probably the best known camera review site. Its "highly recommended" cameras since Jan. 2007 contain 7 point and shoots, of which 4 are Canons. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/default.asp?view=rating

Keep in mind that image quality reviews can be affected by four very different factors:

1) Lens performance. Some lenses will have a problem at one end or the other of their zoom range. Oh surprise, surprise <sarcasm>. Nothing can be done about distortion, but the other aberrations can usually be controlled by simply using a slow f/-stop setting. My ramshackle career includes optical R&D, so I will claim a wee bit of authority here.

2) Sensor performance. Already discussed in other posts here.

3) In-camera image processing. All P&S cameras use the JPG data format. The sensor data has to be transformed into this format by the camera. This transformation always includes compression of some degree. To further fuzzy the picture some cameras also apply noise reduction and/or sharpening. The camera may give you some control over these processes. Or not.

4) The mental state of the reviewer. Some will go on at considerable length about an aberration they have detected in low light, at very high ISO, off in the corner of the image. Leaving the reader with an impression the camera is crap. When for practical picture making purposes, in daylight (or flash), at modest ISO, the camera actually gives perfectly fine results.